On a recent publicity tour to promote the upcoming Men In Black III (in 3D no less!) Will Smith joked with Yahoo! Movies that he still makes the sunglasses look good, and briefly reflected on the reason for the franchise’s success: “’Men in Black’ is very special and unique, and I think it will go down in cinematic history.” That MIB was indeed unlike any other any other science fiction film of its day was undoubtedly the contribution of director Barry Sonnenfeld and screenwriter Ed Solomon, who adopted the story from a Lowell Cunningham comic book series.

On this day, July 2, in 1997, Men in Black with Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith as smartly dressed top-secret government agents, opened in wide release. An unqualified success, it took in holiday weekend gross of over $84 million.

It could have been a much different movie if the first-choice actors and directors accepted. Clint Eastwood was originally offered the role of Agent K that went to Tommy Lee Jones, and Will Smith also reportedly turned down the part of Agent J until his wife convinced him to take it. Directing the two men, had he not declined the offer, could have been the master of comics himself, Quentin Tarantino.